Monteen Castle

Monteen Castle stands as a three-story ruin in a private field northwest of Timoleague, having lost its top chamber and much of its life to the fires of 1600 and the upheavals after the Battle of the Boyne. Built for the Tuath Mointin branch of the MacCarthys, the rectangular tower witnessed Florence MacCarthy sending a hostage to Hugh O'Neill in 1598 before Captain Flower burnt the walls. Though Walter Coppinger later claimed possession, he allowed the MacCarthys Mointins to remain as tenants until Diarmuid O'Hurley probably occupied the site around 1690. The exact moment the final stones collapsed is lost, leaving only a small ruined tower and an 18th century house to mark where loyalty, tenure and loss collided in County Cork.